WMU research may help children with autism

May 9, 2003

KALAMAZOO -- A Western Michigan University researcher has
taken the first step towards solving the problem of teaching
language to autistic children who lack verbal communication skills.

Caio Miguel, a doctoral candidate in WMU's Department of Psychology,
published his findings in a recent issue of the professional
journal, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. His research shows
vocal behaviors in autistic children can be "jump started"
by using a strategy known as "automatic reinforcement."

"We know when parents hear their babies talk, they provide
positive rewards, such as attention, which causes the behavior
to be reproduced," Miguel says. "But during a child's
development, the vocal behaviors increase so rapidly, they can't
be explained only by parental approval. The theory of automatic
reinforcement says that as a result of some parent-child interactions,
a baby's own sounds are rewarding enough to continue to be reproduced."

Although the idea of automatic reinforcement has been proposed
in theory, little research has been done in the field.

"Caio's study is the first really sound experiment to
actually demonstrate the phenomenon of automatic reinforcement,"
says Dr. James Carr, associate professor of psychology and co-author
of the article.

The study involved using "pairing," a technique
in which a researcher repeats a specific sound previously recorded
from an autistic child. Immediately after the researcher makes
the sound, a reward is given to the child. After the pairing
session, the child is then monitored to note the frequency with
which the sound is made without any reward given. Researchers
saw immediate increases in the verbal behavior in some children,
which previously had only occurred at minimal rates.

"What makes it a particularly important contribution
is that the vocal behavior was increased without any external
reward," says Carr.

The hard part of establishing a strategy to teach language
development in autistic children may now be solved, Miguel believes.

"We already know how to produce new vocal behaviors by
giving positive rewards," says Miguel. "The difficult
part was getting the behavior to occur in the first place."

Miguel's research has not gone unnoticed. The Society of Behavior
Analysis, a national professional organization, recently selected
him for the 2003 Bijou Fellowship, an award given to doctoral
students specializing in childhood behavior development.

Miguel earned his undergraduate degree in his native Brazil
before coming to WMU to earn his master's degree and enter the
psychology doctoral program.